One Night
by Charmed8620
Summary: What can result from one night of too much celebrating after congressional elections. Just an idea I decided to follow...
1. Chapter 1: Party Time

This was just an idea that I thought would be fun to see 'what if'. I don't own them and I hope you like the story.

Chapter 1:

"The results from the last nine elections are in." Josh said as he strolled into the conference room that the senior staff had been sitting in since the end of the president's speech at the center. When Josh announced that the last nine senatorial elections had been finalized, the room fell silent.

"Well," CJ said after some moments of anticipation, "Are you going to tell us who won?" "Well I was going to," Josh said with a smirk, "But I'm kind of liking the power that this knowledge gives me."

"Oh for goodness sake, just tell us already." Leo said impatiently, "Oh alright" Josh said as he then broke out into a wide grin, "They all went democrat."

"What!" said CJ as she practically spit out the water she had been drinking, Toby refused to let anyone open a bottle of Champaign until they knew what had happened. "That's better than we had hoped for, that means…"

"That means that the senate is now controlled by democrats" Toby said as he finished her sentence for her. "And that also means," Donna said as she reached past Toby who was sitting on the sofa in order to grab one of the bottles of Champaign, "that we can begin the celebrating."

As the Champaign bottles were opened and the celebration began, Jed Bartlet walked into the room. "You leave people alone for just a minute to go talk to some high paying donators and you come back to find that they've started the party without you." Then as he looked around the room the president said, "I take it this means something good has happened?"

As the president's gaze landed on Leo he immediately spoke up saying, "All nine elections went democrat." "That's excellent" the president said with a huge grin, "Now somebody get me a glass of Champaign."

While ten different people rushed to do as the president had asked he took Leo aside, "This does mean that we are now in control of the senate, correct?"

"Yes mister president" "Then does this also mean that we will be able to start passing some real legislation around here?"

"That it does" Leo said with a smile. "Fantastic," Jed said as he clapped his hands together and then accepted the glass of Champaign that Charlie was holding for him. "I should go call Abbey, she'll want to know this great news…"

"Mr. President," Leo kindly interrupted, "It's one O'clock here and midnight in Colorado where Abbey is staying. Why don't you let her get some sleep? She'll have heard all about it by the time she gets home tomorrow evening, and then you can tell her all about your magnificent plans to change the world, okay?"

"Oh alright Leo," the president said as he stood up out of the chair he had sat in, "Let's go join the celebration."

As the celebration carried on, the bottles of Champaign continued to be emptied and replaced, and by the time that everyone was headed home, they had heard not only about all of the special characteristics of ferns, but also about the specific functions of the different types of worms.

"Did you know that certain types of worms have their brains all over their bodies?" "No sir I didn't" CJ and Leo said at the same time.

"Goodnight Mr. President" Leo said as he separated from CJ, Charlie, and the President and headed towards his car, he was probably the only person left sober after the evenings activities.

"And did you know," the president began before he registered Leo's comment, "Oh, yes. Goodnight. Did you know CJ, that if a worm who has been trained to be sensitive to light is cut up and fed to other worms, those other worms will learn what it already learned?"

"I didn't know that sir" CJ said as she practically fell down the stairs, only to be stopped by Charlie's arms, Charlie being the only person besides Leo still even semi-sober.

"It's true" the president insisted as he walked out towards the front entrance, "That's exactly what we need to do for our public education system."

"Cut up the teacher and feed them to the students?" CJ asked in a confused voice, "No, find a way to instill knowledge that effortlessly." "Oh course Mr. President"

"Charlie" the president said as they were walking towards the limo, "Call CJ a cab so she can get home," "I'm fine sir" CJ said as she practically hiccupped the statement.

"Are you sure?" the president asked, not even noticing her hiccup for his own state of incoherence, "Alright then, Charlie you can go home now."

Charlie looked to the secret service agent who nodded that he had things under control back to the white house and then said, "Thank you Mr. President" and turned to go.

As they continued to approach the limo and CJ got ready to go find her car, she tripped over her own high heels and fell to the ground with no Charlie there to stop her.

"Mr. President" the secret service agent said as both the president and CJ burst out into a fit of drunken laughter, "Might I suggest that perhaps Ms. Cregg here is not as fit to drive as she suggests that she is?"

"What? Oh yes, CJ come with us in the limo and you can get a cab back from the whi…hic…house" "Yes sir" CJ said as she climbed into the limo and found herself in the midst of another giggling fit.


	2. Chapter 2: We need to talk

Chapter 2:

The next morning Jed Bartlet awoke in the residence with a pounding headache. He looked over at his alarm clock and saw that it was seven O'clock. He tried to remember what time he had finally gotten to bed as he stretched out his arms.

As he stretched his arm came in contact with a mass of hair connected to the head lying next to him on the pillow. Jed was wondering why Abbey was still in bed at this time of the morning when he remembered that Abbey was in Colorado and would not be home until that evening.

With a growing sense of confusion, Jed rolled over to see a heap of sandy-blonde locks, which most certainly did not belong to Abbey, on the pillow next to his own.

CJ Cregg groaned as she squinted opened her eyes only to find them filled with a bright light streaming in from the curtains. Closing her eyes again, CJ sighed, "I should not have had so much to drink last night." "CJ!" came the surprised voice from beside of her.

CJ sat up quickly in shock from hearing another voice in her bed, and then quickly regretted the idea as her head began to swim and she put her head in her hand to massage her temples. As she regained some of her thinking functions, CJ opened her eyes and looked around the room. She realized for the first time that she was not sitting in her own bed, and that this was not her room.

There were two couches sitting on top of a rug on her left, and behind them there was a set of French doors that most certainly were not a part of her house. "Now Claudia Jean, I think that we need to talk" came the unstable and shaky voice from beside her.

Slowly turning her head to see what she had gotten herself into, CJ realized that there were onlytwo peoplewho called her by that name, and this didn't sound like Josh.

As CJ turned to look into the eyes of the President of the United States, she pushed herself back in shock and proceeded to fall off the bed. When CJ realized what she had just seen and the fact that she was naked, she immediately began to gather her clothes, which had been scattered across the floor.

"Now, CJ…" Jed began as he tried to keep his voice steady, I think that we just need to sit down and talk about this like civilized adults." As CJ finished pulling on her shirt and then her pants, she looked at him and said, "Mr. President, I…I can't deal with this right now." And then she walked hurriedly from the room and began to run as soon as she was out of the French doors and around the corner.

"CJ!" Jed Bartlet called as he saw his press secretary practically run from his room with a look of horror on her face. As CJ ran down the hall she streamed passed a suddenly very confused Charlie.

When Charlie entered the president's room, he found the president awake and tying up his shoes. "I was just coming to give you your wake up call" Charlie said in a hesitant voice, "But I see that you're already awake."

"Yes I am" the president said in as cheery a voice as he could muster, "Did you happen to see CJ on your way in?" "Yes sir I did" Charlie said still slightly confused about what was going on, "She seemed rather flustered and she was running, she…" Charlie stopped mid-sentence as realization finally dawned on him.

"I knew I shouldn't have left you alone last night" Charlie said as the president finished tying up his shoes and proceeded to drink some water from the glass by his bed. "What was that?" Jed asked sharply, "Nothing" Charlie said as he looked away.

"I was drunk, she was drunk and that is all," Jed said to no one in particular as Charlie stood there, "And we are going to deal with this like adults goddammit!" With that the president slammed his water glass down onto the table unable to control his feelings. "I don't want to hear a word from you either." Jed said as he turned back to face Charlie again.

Calming himself back down, Jed took a deep breath and said "I'm going to finish getting ready and then I'm going to get some breakfast. After that I need to talk to CJ in the Oval office. Please send someone down to CJ's office with a message saying that I want to meet with her in the Oval in thirty minutes."

"Yes sir." Charlie said as he went to give the message to someone and thought over all of the events that had just happened in his head.

Back in her office, CJ was in panic mode. She was trying to think of all the possible ways that what had happened to her this morning was simply a dream.

Unfortunately, so far none of them were working out. She was deeply absorbed in her train of thoughts when she heard a knock at the door.

She practically jumped out of her socks as she turned to see who it was, and then let out an audible sigh of relief when she found Josh standing in her doorway. "Oh, it's you." "Yes it's me." Josh said with a laugh as he saw CJ's scared look, "Who did you think it was going to be?"

"Huh? Oh no one." "Okay," Josh said skeptically as he continued on, "I just wanted to come by to be sure that you had all of the information you need to brief the press on the election results and the white house's reaction in this morning's briefing."

"Oh thanks" CJ said as she took the folder from his hand. "Are those the same clothes you were wearing yesterday?" Josh asked with devilish grin. "Of course not," CJ said in a nonchalant voice, "I think they are, I think that those are the exact clothes that you wore yesterday, there's even a stain on them from where you spilled Champaign last night."

"I…I" CJ said as Josh continued, "You sly fox, you spent the night at someone's house didn't you?" As CJ turned increasingly red and became more and more flustered, Josh said, "It's nothing to be embarrassed about CJ, I was just stating the facts, which by the way your silence has given far more credit to then if you were to do anything else. Anyways, I'll see you later."

"Carol!" CJ yelled as Josh left, "I need a new outfit to wear today and a cup of the strongest coffee you ca find." "Yes I'll et right on it." Carol said as she turned to go, "Oh, and CJ?" "Yes Carol?" CJ said impatiently, "The president wants to see you in his office in fifteen minutes." As Carol left, CJ sank down into her chair, and her face became far paler as all of the blood seemed to flow out of her body. She was going to have to confront the situation sooner than she had wanted. Much sooner.

"He's waiting for you." Mrs. Landingham said as CJ walked up to the outer room in front of the oval office. "Feel free to go on in." With a deep breath, CJ steadied her nerves and pushed open the door.

"Good morning CJ" the president said in an overly cheery tone. "Would you like some coffee? A scone?" "No thank you Mr. President" CJ said with as much dignity as she could manage.

Leaning back against his desk the president said, "I'd like to try to do this in as civilized a manner as possible. I really don't want things to be awkward…" "With all due respect Mr. President" CJ said as she interrupted him, "There is no way that things are not going to be awkward. Not only are you the President of the United States, and I your press secretary, but you are also a married man, and I am by no means your wife."

"All the same, I think that we should discuss this over coffee, and then…" "Mr. President, what is it that you want? Do you want my resignation? Because I'll give it to you if you ask. Do you want my silence? I'm not going to tell anyone about this, although you can tell whomever you like. Including Abbey, although I'd like to be in another country when you tell her if that's alright by you…"

"First of all CJ," Jed said in a very calm and gentle voice, "That's twice now that you've interrupted me. Second of all I do not by any means want your resignation, and you should feel free to tell whomever you like about this so long as they are not any members of the associated press. I can see now that you are definitely not ready to talk about this, so I will give you some time to cool down and then we will talk this whole thing over. Alright?"

"Yes sir." CJ said, relieved that she would not yet have to face the humiliating discussion ahead of her. "In the mean time, I am going to talk to a few people about this, including Abbey." Seeing the look on CJ's face he said, "Yes CJ, including Abbey, but I'm going to make it incredibly clear that you are completely blameless in every way." "Yes sir" CJ said as she turned to go.

"Oh and CJ," Jed said when she was almost at the door, "I appreciate how well you are handling this situation. Even if you aren't yet ready to talk about it."

"Thank you sir" CJ said as she felt her face turn red from the mortification of the situation and then opened the door and walked out into the hall.

"CJ," Sam said as he saw her walking back to her office, "Wait up a second." "Yes Sam?" CJ said as she turned to face him, "I just needed to talk to you about our statements to the press for last night's elections."

"Uh huh," CJ said in a distracted voice as she tried to figure out a way to avoid Abigail Bartlet at all costs for the next few days. "CJ, are you listening to me?" Sam said in an aggravated tone.

"Oh yes, press statements. Well I think that we should express our admiration for all the candidates who ran last evening and mention that we are anxious to get to work on some serious legislation over the next few years."

"Sounds good," Sam said as he started to walk off towards his office, "Toby and I will start drafting a statement for the president as well. And CJ, are those the same clothes that you were wearing yesterday?" Blushing a deep shade of red CJ said, "Of course not Sam, now go do your work."

Feeling incredibly overwhelmed by the circumstances that she now found herself in, CJ headed back to her office to think over how she was going to manage to face the president again.


	3. Chapter 3: I did something stupid

Chapter 3:

"Leo," Jed Bartlet said as he knocked on the adjoining door between their offices, "Do you have a second to talk?" "Of course Mister President" Leo said as he put down the memo he was reading, "Come on in and have a seat."

"Margaret" Leo called as he got up to close the door, be sure that you change the spelling of the word bipartisan, it is spelled better with a hyphen, not as a single word. "What was it that you wanted to talk about sir?" Leo asked as he came to sit in the chair opposite of the president.

"I wanted to talk to you as mainly a friend for a moment, okay?" "Yes sir" Leo said uncertainly as he took off his reading glasses, "What's on your mind?"

"I did something stupid" Jed said with a sigh as he reached up his hand to massage his temple, "I did something stupid Leo, and now I'm worried that I may lose two of the most important women in my life because of it."

Looking up in concern at his friend, Leo whispered, "What on earth did you do Jed?" Taking a deep breath, the president prepared himself to tell his story, "Well you remember the party last night I'm sure?"

"Of course" Leo said with a curt nod, "Well as you know, we all partied a little harder than maybe we should have, but at least everyone got home okay. So after you left, when CJ, Charlie, and I were walking towards the limo, I dismissed Charlie and told him that he was welcome to go home."

"Yes sir" Leo said as he listened closely to the president's story. "After Charlie left, CJ fell over a couple of times, and Ron suggested that we give her a ride back to the White House instead of letting her drive."

"That was a good idea" Leo said in approval, "Well anyway, that's what happened" Jed said as he looked out the window over Leo's shoulder.

"I'm sorry sir" Leo said in a confused tone, "I'm not sure I'm following you, what happened?" "Oh for goodness sake's Leo!" The president snapped unable to control his misguided frustration and anger.

Then calming down he looked down at the floor and whispered, "I gave CJ a ride back to the White House, and when I woke up she was there."

"Hold on a second," Leo said in disbelief, "Are you telling me that you…that you" "Yes Leo" Jed said as he looked up to meet his best friend's eyes, "I slept with CJ Cregg last night." "Oh Jed," Leo said as he shook his head, this is not good."

"Don't you think I know that!" the president snapped as he lost all trace of the calm he had managed to maintain throughout the morning, "I know that this isn't good. I slept with another women so my wife is going to kill me. That woman happens to be my press secretary so the whole world is going to want to know, and it will certainly affect the dynamics of the workplace. I consider said woman to be like a daughter and my wife considers her to be a close friend. And on top of all of that, that woman was completely incoherent, even more so than myself, and I'm worried that she might feel that I took advantage of her! I know this is bad Leo, I definitely know."

"Alright," Leo said with a sigh as he transitioned from friend mode into chief-of-staff-mode, "I think that the first thing we have to do is that I have to talk to CJ. Then I think that you need to talk to Abbey when she gets home this evening and pray to god that she forgives you. After that we'll just take it one step at a time."

"Thanks Leo" the president said softly as he got up to go back into his office, "And please be nice to her Leo" Jed said as he walked back to the adjoining office door, "I think that she has probably had one of the worst mornings of her life." "Don't worry sir, I'll try not to yell too much." "Good then, I'll see you later today provided that I live through my upcoming meeting with Abbey."

"Margaret!" Leo yelled as the president left the room.

"Yes Leo?" "Get CJ in my office now!" "What should I tell her it's about?" Margaret asked as she noted the unhappy look on Leo's face, "Just tell her that I need to tall to her about the results of last night."

"You mean the elections?" Margaret asked as she looked up from her note pad, "Yeah sure," Leo said with a sigh, "Tell her that it's about the election results." He doubted she'd believe it, but it might at least get her to his office without a fuss.

"What were you thinking CJ!" Leo yelled before she even had a chance to fully enter his office for their meeting. "Leo, what are you talking…" interrupting her loudly and standing up from his desk Leo said, "You know damn well what I'm talking about CJ! The president came by to see me this afternoon," Leo paused to give CJ a meaningful glare, "So I'm asking you once again, what the hell where you thinking!"

"I wasn't thinking Leo!" CJ yelled in a frustrated voice, finally letting out some of her own pent up anger. "There was no thinking involved on anyone's part Leo." CJ said with a sigh as she took a seat in one of his chairs and placed her head in her hands.

"CJ," Leo said with a far gentler voice when he saw the pained look on her face, "CJ I…" "Look Leo," CJ interrupted as she looked up at him, "I'm sorry I yelled at you that was out of line. I just want you to know that I never planned to do anything like this, it was just a stupid, drunken mistake. And now that mistake might cost me my friendship with Abbey and my previous easy-going relationship with my boss."

"I know that you never intended for this to happen CJ, you're a far better person than to come between a married man and his wife, no matter who that man may be. And I'm truly sorry that it has to be this way."

Looking up at Leo, CJ sighed and said "You want my resignation. Even though the president refused to take it, you want my resignation."

"Yes CJ, I'm not asking for it right now, but when this get's out I want your signed resignation sitting on my desk. And that is a 'when' and not an 'if' this gets out. You've worked in politics for a while now CJ, and I'm sure you are aware of how these things work, it is a definite reality that this story will leak, whether in the middle of next week or next year."

"Yes Leo, I do know that, and I know that the president cannot possibly hope to run for re-election with a scandal like this on his shoulders…I just wish that there were some other way."

Sighing Leo said, "I wish that too CJ, you are an incredibly bright and talented young woman, but my first job is and always has been to protect the president. That is all of our job, and that is why I know that when the day comes I will find your resignation on my desk."

"Yes Leo, it will be there when the day comes." As CJ looked up at Leo, she saw an uncharacteristic look of hesitation in his eyes and then guessed the motive behind it, "You're not just asking for my resignation, are you?"

Smiling sadly at the genius of the woman before him and at the cost of what he was asking her to commit, Leo said, "No, I'm not just asking for your resignation. It wouldn't do the president any good to lose his press secretary if it didn't somehow lessen his part of the scandal in the process."

"You want me to create an image." CJ said bluntly with no question at all in the phrasing, "You want me to lie to the world and try to take the blame away from the president."

"I know how much this is asking of you…" Leo began before CJ interrupted him in a tone of increasing disbelief, "No Leo, I'll do it. So what angle are you trying to play? The sad and lonely press secretary who was recently dumped by her latest boyfriend? The crazed woman purposefully trying to screw up the presidency? Or, and personally I like this one best of all…" CJ said as her voice edged dangerously close to the point of hysterical laughter, "Or we could just blame the president's M.S. and say that he had no cognitive function at the time of the 'incident'."

"I was thinking," Leo began with a sigh, "I was thinking that we should play up the role of the lonely, drunken president and the power-hungry, opportunistic woman."

CJ closed her eyes thinking of how hard she had worked to dispel just such stereotypes, thinking of how many times she had threatened to break someone's kneecaps when they insinuated that she had slept her way up the political ladder. That now, after all of her efforts, that it should come down to her purposeful engagement of such stereotypes seemed to CJ to be some display of the world's ironic sense of humor.

Thinking about all of the possible repercussions of this choice, both negative and positive alike, CJ finally looked back up at Leo and said, "Fine, I'll do it." What did it matter now anyways? CJ thought, her career in politics was over the moment this story broke anyway, so what if her entire family thought that she was some sort of power-hungry hoar, at least this way she could protect the president's best interests.

"Thank you CJ" Leo said truly wishing that there was some way to save her the painful experience ahead, "I really hope that this story takes years to break, because I truly don't know how we're going to get along without you."

"A good start would be to be sure that Josh doesn't end up anywhere near the press room." CJ said with a laugh as she used her classic mode of humor-as-a-deflection. Then getting up to leave, CJ paused at the door and whispered, "I'm going to miss this Leo, I just hope that I can stay here for at least a little longer."

XXXXX

I hope you like the story thus far. Up next, a conversation with Josh. Reviews are very welcome!


	4. Chapter 4: I'll stand by you

Chapter 4:

Later that afternoon as CJ sat in her office, Josh came by and knocked on the doorframe to her office. "Go away Josh" CJ said without even looking up from her computer. "I just came by to…hey, how did you know it was me?"

"I can hear your swagger from a mile away Josh, now go away, I'm trying to get some actual work done." Instead on leaving, Josh simply leaned up against the doorframe and watched CJ type for a minute before she looked back up at him, "What!"

"You changed clothes" Josh observed with a smirk, "Your powers of observation astound me Josh," CJ said dryly as she continued to do her best to ignore and then gave up and said, "What do you want?'

"Well CJ, I just wanted to tell you that you shouldn't be embarrassed about your sex life." Finally looking up from her computer and taking off her glasses CJ said, "That's what you came here to tell me?"

"Well no," Josh admitted, "But the other thing isn't really all that important." "Okay then, go away." CJ said as she looked back down to her computer.

"Alright" Josh said smugly, "But I'm just saying that if I were the one who came to work in the same outfit I wore the day before, I wouldn't feel the need to have my assistant bring me a change of clothes."

"Does it give you some morbid sense of enjoyment to have this superiority to me? Do you feel all powerful now?" CJ asked in her usual joking manner. "As a matter of fact," Josh said with a wide smile, "It gives me a huge sense of satisfaction to know that I have finally managed to be better at something than you."

"Fine Josh," CJ said with a smile, "You win, now leave me alone and let me finish my work." "Alright" Josh said as he got ready to leave, "But just so you know" he said as he paused at the edge of her door,

"You really have nothing to feel ashamed about CJ, you are a beautiful, successful, smart, funny, and amazingly talented woman. I mean, come on CJ, this sort of embarrassment seems unnatural from the same woman who yelled out to a courtyard full of people that she was great in bed. So unless you slept with John Hoynes, you really have nothing to feel embarrassed about."

Noting CJ's awkward silence and the newly-formed blush rising to her cheeks, Josh said worriedly, "You didn't sleep with John Hoynes did you CJ!"

"No Josh, no" CJ said hurriedly as held up her ands to stem the flow of his worried words. "That's good, because if you had it would be a bad thing, and…" Interrupting his relieved reaction, CJ whispered to herself, "It's so much worse."

"CJ?" Josh said quietly as he closed the door behind him and continued with a new sense of sincerity, "CJ, what's wrong? How could you possibly have done anything worse than sleep with Hoynes?"

"I…I don't think that I should be telling you this Josh" CJ said with a somewhat shaky voice, "But I just really need to talk to someone." Taking a seat on her couch, Josh looked up at CJ and said, "CJ you can tell me anything, I'm here for you."

"Okay" CJ said as gathered her composure to tell one of her best friends something that she had done that would haunt her forever. "So you remember that last night was the congressional election," "Of course" Josh said gently prompting her to go on, "And we were all pretty drunk after the party," "Yeah, Toby even laughed for once."

"Josh, please…just please let me get this out before you say anything, alright" CJ asked with a pained look in her eyes, "Oh, of course, I'm sorry I won't interrupt you again."

Taking a breath and looking into his eyes, CJ faltered, "Oh god, I don't know if I should be telling you this, I mean he told me that I could tell whoever I want, but I just don't know if I should. And I really don't want you to hold thins against me, so maybe I just shouldn't tell you…"

"Whoa CJ, slow down" Josh said kindly as he placed his hand on her forearm, "I don't know what you're talking about, but whatever it is I promise that I won't 'hold it against you'. I just can't possibly imagine what on earth you think is so bad, I mean what could you possibly have done to make you think that I or any of the other staff won't accept you?"

"I slept with the president" CJ said very quietly into her hand. "What? I'm sorry CJ, I couldn't hear you."

"I said I slept with the president!" CJ all but yelled, only keeping her voice down out of fear that someone else might hear.

"The president of what?" Josh asked in his usual clueless manner, "Where do you think Josh?" CJ said in a desperate voice. Looking at her and seeing the look of immense regret in her eyes Josh leaned forward and said, "No, no you couldn't possibly mean…" "Yes Josh, that's exactly who I mean. President Jed Bartlet."

"Oh CJ," Josh said as the reality of the situation sunk in, "How did this happen?" Instead of yelling at him and asking 'how the hell should she know', CJ sank back into her chair and finally allowed some of her own concerns to be voiced.

"I don't know how it happened Josh. Everyone who knows keeps asking me how it happened or what I was thinking, but the truth is that I don't even remember.

I remember that we both drunk, that the president offered me a ride back to the White House, and then I remember waking up naked in bed with the most powerful man in the world, who might I add is already married, and seeing my clothes scattered all over the floor."

As she said this Josh cringed at her visual imagery that was infecting his imagination, "But do you want to know what the funniest part is?" CJ asked as tears began to form in her eyes, "The funny part is that for all I know nothing could have happened. This could all just be some big over reaction, because I really don't remember one shred of last night."

"Well then maybe you're right" Josh said trying to comfort himself as much as to comfort her, "Maybe you really didn't sleep with him and it's all just a big accident." Laughing at Josh's ignorance even at a time like this, CJ said, "Even if that were true, which it probably isn't given all of the clothes that were lying on the floor, how do you think the press would react to that? There's no way anyone would believe it."

Giving up on any attempt to disprove the horrid truth, Josh said, "Have you spoken with the President yet today?"

"You mean other then when I practically sprinted out of the residence this morning? Yes, he called me into his office this morning, but I told him that I just wasn't ready to face this yet." "That's understandable" Josh said comfortingly.

"Yeah, he told me that I was free to talk to whomever I liked about this, and that he was going to talk to Abbey as soon as she gets home this evening." "You mean he's going to tell her that the two of you slept together!" Josh asked in a panicked voice.

"My thoughts exactly, but yes, he is a good husband and he's going to talk to her right away when she get's home. So now not only am I going to be in major trouble with the first lady, but I'm also going to lose one of my closest female friends."

"I'm so sorry CJ" Josh said as he came over to where she was leaning against her desk and put his arm around her, "But I'm sure that you can get through this just fine." Leaning her head against his chest CJ sighed, "I'm not sure Josh. I mean Leo said he was sorry too, but it doesn't really make the situation any better."

"That's true CJ, and I'm sorry that I can't simply fix this whole mess for you, but…did you say that Leo knows?" "Yeah" CJ said with a little laugh, "The president is very good about telling people that he trusts who are sure to make my life hell."

"What did Leo say?" Josh asked as CJ sat up to look at him, "He asked my what the hell I was thinking and then said that he was sorry things had to end up this way but that he expects my resignation when the story breaks."

"He wants you to resign over this! There's no way CJ, he can't ask you to resign because of a stupid little mistake that isn't even all your fault, and why would he? I mean he thinks of you like a daughter."

Even as the words escaped his mouth, Josh knew he had said the wrong thing. He watched as CJ cringed slightly when reminded of the words that had once been spoken regarding the president himself.

"I'm sorry CJ, I didn't mean to remind you of…" Holding up her hand to stop him, CJ said, "It's okay Josh, really, it's not even the resignation that bothers me, Leo is right to put the needs of the presidency first, I just wish that I could stay a little longer."

"We could fight this CJ, you don't need to leave your job that you are so good at simply to cover the public's impression of the president." "That is my job Josh! To be sure that the public has a positive impression of the president, this is just a larger extension of that duty."

Sighing and looking out the window CJ said, "My only regret is that my friends are all going to see the image in the newspapers and their never going to know the truth."

"What image are you talking about CJ?" Josh asked carefully as he knew that she had not really been directing that comment at him. "I didn't mean to say anything about it…it really isn't all that important" CJ tried to cover quickly as Josh interrupted her.

"I think it is important, you said it was your one regret about the whole situation which means that obviously it's important to you."

Looking back into his eyes and realizing that she truly could trust him, CJ said, "You're right, it is important to me. But if I tell you about this you have to promise to keep this confidential, not even to tell Sam or Toby." "I promise." Josh said with real sincerity in his voice.

"Leo and I made a deal that in order to save the president's chances at re-election when this news breaks, I am going to have to create some sort of image or spin on the story. Leo thinks that the best way to do that would be to portray the president as a lonely, drunken man, which is true, and to portray me as a… I believe the words he used were to portray me as a 'power-hungry woman who is very opportunistic'."

Giving her a look of complete shock Josh stammered, "He wants to make you look like some sort of hoar in the public's eye! That's insane, that's unreasonable and not fair to ask at all!"

Smiling sadly at his idealism and at the reflection of her own thoughts that she could hear in his words, CJ said, "Josh you've been working in politics for god knows how long and have you ever once found it to be a business where being 'fair' matters?"

Shaking his head Josh consented, "No, no of course being fair doesn't matter. Look CJ, I'm really sorry that it has come to such an ending and I will be here to do anything I can to stop it from getting to that point. I just want to let you know that although I may be slightly mortified at the idea of you and the president together," CJ laughed a little at Josh's way to make any issue seem like something small to be joked about, "I'll stand by you on this the whole way CJ, and I'm here if you need anything."

"Thank you Josh" CJ said with her first real smile all day, "I really appreciate it, and I'm glad to know I have you as a friend right now." Then seeing how sappy the moment was getting ready to turn, CJ wiped away the tears that had fallen from here eyes during their conversation, and laughed as she said, "Now get back to your office and do some work or they'll be asking for your resignation next."

XXXXX

Next up is a conversation with Abbey (ooh fun). Reviews are very welcome!


	5. Chapter 5: Mrs Bartlet

Chapter 5:

The next morning as CJ walked into her office early in the morning and turned on the light, she was surprised to hear a voice from the couch to her left. "Good morning CJ" Abigail Bartlet said as CJ practically jumped out of her skin, "Mrs. Bartlet" CJ said as she took a deep breath and practically slammed the door out of nerves, "I'm sorry, I didn't see you there."

"That's quite alright CJ," Abbey sweetly said as she shifted on the couch so that she more directly faced CJ who was now leaning against her desk, "And I insist that you call me Abbey, none of this 'Mrs. Bartlet' nonsense, I mean after all, we're sleeping with the same man."

Picking up on the dangerous sound to Abbey's sweet and calm voice, CJ said, "Mrs. Bartlet, I understand that you're probably upset right now…" Interrupting her with the same innocent smile plastered on her face Abbey said, "Now CJ why on earth would you think that I might upset?"

"Alright," CJ said as she amended her statement based on the passive aggressive behavior of Abbey's words, "So you're a little more than upset…"

"You're damn right I'm more than upset!" Abbey said with the first hint of a raise in her level of voice and her tone. "Alright you're pissed, I can see that" CJ said, more to herself than to Abbey, as she tried to figure out what her best course of action would be.

"I'm pissed as hell CJ!" Abbey yelled as she stood up from the couch, "I'm pissed on so many levels." Resting her head against her hand as she often did when she was frustrated, CJ said, "I assume this is about the night before last?"

"You mean when you slept with my husband? Yes that's what this is about. Unless there are have been other times this happened?" Staring coldly at CJ as she waited for some sort of response, Abbey sat back down on the couch while maintaining eye-contact with CJ.

"No of course it didn't happen more than once," CJ began with a sigh, "Mrs. Bartlet, the first thing that you have to understand is that your husband would never cheat on you, with anyone, especially myself. And even if he was that kind of man, I would never let him…"

"And yet somehow you both ended up screwing in my bed while I was off making a speech in Colorado." Abbey said with a hint of real sadness mixed in with her usual sarcasm.

"Ma'am, we were both entirely drunk and had absolutely no idea what we were doing. I can assure you that had we been sober nothing like this would have even crossed our minds as a possibility." CJ said with complete sincerity as she looked Abbey in the eyes.

"And that's supposed to make me feel better!" Abbey demanded, "No of course not…" CJ began quietly before Abbey cut her off again. "CJ, you're young, you're beautiful, you have a successful career, don't think that I don't know how men feel about women like you."

Breaking into a small smile for the first time in their conversation, CJ said, "Mrs. Bartlet, I don't know what you mean by 'women like me', but I can tell you that I'm not all that young, I can also tell you that anyone who isn't blind knows that you are the only First Lady, other than Jacqueline Kennedy, to attract so much public attention for her looks, and anyone who isn't blind can also see that your husband loves you more than anything else in the world."

"You can see what good all of that did me," Abbey said dejectedly, "even if he does love me more than life itself, it doesn't change the fact that he went off and fucked his press secretary almost half his age."

Cringing at Abbey's choice of words, CJ continued on with the conversation as best as she could, "It was a mistake Ma'am, everyone makes them, this one just happens to have bigger consequences than most."

"I know," Abbey said with a sigh, to the surprise of CJ who had been gearing up to take a beating from the First Lady, "I know that CJ. It's all that's keeping me from walking out of the door this instant. I know that he, well both of you, made a huge mistake and that you feel guilty over it. I also know that in time, even if we haven't spoken since he told me and I walked out of the room, I am going to forgive him, if only because I am a politician's wife and that is what we do."

"I'm glad that you can at least see that Mrs. Bartlet," CJ said truly glad for the First Lady's uncanny ability to reason during even the hardest of times, "I'm glad you can see that even if you're not ready to forgive him, or me for that matter."

"Well Claudia Jean," Abbey said calmly as she looked up at CJ, "I'm definitely no where near ready to forgive either of you at this point. But in the future, my forgiveness of you will depend on your answer to one simple question."

"Yes? CJ said gently prodding Abbey towards the question that apparently held the key to her forgiveness.

"Did you or did you not purposely get my husband drunk and sleep with him in order to gain political and personal power?" Looking at Abbey with such a disdainful look that if one had to guess, they'd have thought that CJ was the one who's husband had been cheating with Abbey, CJ paused unable to speak for a moment out of pure shock.

When she finally regained her voice, CJ spoke using the First Lady's first name for the first time since she had discovered her sitting in the office, "Abbey, although our friendship may be long gone now in light of recent occurrences, I'd have thought that at least in honor of all the years we were friends, you'd have known better than to have to even ask me something like that."

Maintaining a complete sense of calm, no longer with any trace of her previous anger, Abbey slowly repeated her question, "Did you sleep with my husband intentionally to gain power?"

"No, of course not," CJ said pushing herself up from her desk to stand at her full height, "I would never do anything like that Abbey! Never!"

Quickly regaining all of her previous fury, Abbey stood up and shouted, "Then why the hell would you allow Leo McGarry to give such an image of you to the public!"

After a brief moment in which she was too confused to process what had just happened, CJ sat back against her desk and began to laugh. "What in the name of God do you find funny about this!" Abbey asked indignantly. "Only you would be worried about preserving _my_ dignity at a time like this Abbey."

"You may have made a pretty goddamn stupid mistake CJ, and it may take me a while to get over it, but that doesn't mean that you should take the fall for this. This is as much Jed's fault, if not more, than it is yours, and I don't see why he should get off so easily!"

"Abbey," CJ said as she shook her head and her laughter began to turn into quiet sobs, "Don't you think that I wish it were that simple. That I could simply share the blame, or better yet, go back in time and erase this whole thing? Then you and I could go back to being friends, I could have my old relationship with my boss and continue to work at this job that I love, but we both know it isn't nearly that simple. You said it yourself a moment ago, you are a politician's wife, and as such, you know that someone has to take the blame. This time it's my turn."

Taking a small step towards CJ and gently placing her hand on CJ's own folded hands, Abbey said gently, "Not if I have anything to say about it. I will not sit quietly back and watch as you take the blame for his mistakes. But that doesn't mean you can avoid talking to him you know."

Seeing the surprised look on CJ's face Abbey added, "Leo mentioned when we were talking that you still haven't had a real conversation with the President. _I _have a reason to be avoiding him, but you need to talk to him about this. Soon."

"Yes Ma'am," CJ said as she wiped the tears that had fallen down the side of her face, "And I truly am sorrier than you can ever know." Smiling sadly Abbey said, "I know." But knowing didn't make it any easier for her to deal with.

About to leave the room, and then choosing to pause right before she opened the door, Abbey turned and said, "There's just one more thing that I wanted to ask. Not as the wife of the man you slept with, not even as a friend, but as a doctor looking out for the well being of the President and all those around him."

"Shoot away," CJ said with a small smile, "I think you've more than earned the right to ask whatever you want." "Well," Abbey said with a small sigh, "What I want to know is just how stupid were you two when you slept together?"

"Mrs. Bartlet?" CJ said slowly, "I'm not sure I understand your question." "What I'm asking is if you did anything that might have a lasting impact on our lives."

"Well if this gets out into the press, it's going to affect the entire administration and…" "No," Abbey said gently as she shook her head, "That's not what I'm asking. I'm asking in a far more personal regard, what I'm wondering is if…if you were aware enough to use some form of contraceptive?"

As she finally realized what Abbey was asking, CJ's face fell. "Oh my god, I don't remember. You don't think…" "I don't know" Abbey said with a sigh, "But you might want to bring that up with my husband when you meet with him."

"Yes Ma'am" CJ said in a state of disbelief as Abbey walked out of the room, and she walked around her desk to take a seat. There was no way that this could possibly be happening.


	6. Chapter 6: Alternatives

Chapter 6:

As the course of the day wore on, CJ tried to get as much work done as she possibly could. She buried her worries in memos and briefings until she had run out of immediate things to do and could no longer avoid thinking. When her conscious could no longer avoid it, CJ decided to schedule a talk with the President as Abbey had suggested.

"Carol!" CJ called as she set down the last of her memos she had to read on her desk. "Yes?" Carol said politely as she opened the door with her notebook in hand, "I need you to schedule a meeting for me at some point today with the President."

"Should I tell him it's about anything in particular?" Carol asked as she prepared to close the door, "Just tell Charlie that he'll know what it's about."

As Carol left to call Charlie, CJ took off her glasses and rubbed the bridge of her nose where they had been resting. So far these past two days had not turned out to be the celebratory victory that one would expect after winning a democratic senate.

To be fair, Toby and Donna were continuously pointing out the benefits of having a congress that was willing to work with them on serious issues, and Sam and Josh were congratulating each other on single handedly dominating the Republican Party.

Yet despite all of these normal reactions to a victory, CJ still felt as if the overwhelming feeling of the past two days had been one of regret and dread. CJ was deep in such thoughts when Carol knocked on her door once again and announced, "The President has an opening at three o'clock in his schedule if that works for you."

"Yeah that's fine" CJ said absentmindedly as her thoughts had already turned to her meeting later that afternoon. She looked down at her watch and saw that it was now eleven a.m., that would give her just enough time to eat a quick lunch, give an afternoon briefing and deal with any world-ending crisis that might arise between now and then.

Four hours later, CJ found herself walking on her way to the Oval Office. She had managed to eat lunch and get some more briefing memos done, but amazingly no new crisis had occurred.

As she walked closer and closer to her meeting with Jed Bartlet, CJ began to strongly resent this fact. She was practically wishing for a note saying that Canada had attacked the U.S. by the time that she reached Charlie's office area.

"Good afternoon CJ" Charlie said cheerily as she approached him. "Hello Charlie" she said with all the voice she could muster given the number of butterflies in her stomach. "Is the President in?"

"He's just finishing up a meeting with Leo in his office, but he said for you to go ahead and go inside and he'll be inside in a minute." Charlie said as he nodded towards the door to the Oval Office and then went back to his paperwork.

Following Charlie's direction, CJ entered the Oval Office to wait. As she looked around the room in all its grandeur, CJ began to wonder how things had come to where they were now.

How had she managed to destroy her comfortable relationship she had once had with this office? Why was she now going to have to leave behind all of this work that she was just starting to truly love? Was she in some way responsible for bringing disgrace to this powerful office?

"CJ!" Bartlet exclaimed in a friendly manner as he walked into the room and startled her from her revere. "How has your day been today?" Bartlet continued in his cordial manner as she motioned for her to sit.

"It's been fine, sir," CJ said uncertainly "and how has yours been?" Answering with typical Jed Bartlet sarcasm, the President said, "Well, my wife won't speak to me today, but other than that…"

"I wish that I could say I had the same problem," CJ said sincerely, "Ah, so you've talked to Abbey" Jed said sympathetically as he sat in the chair across from CJ. "Yes sir, I most definitely have." CJ said with a small laugh.

"I must say though, it gave me quite a scare to find her sitting in my office when I arrived at six-thirty this morning." Shaking his head at the fear that everyone in the Bartlet administration knew Abbey could inflict, Bartlet became more serious and said, "I think that we both know why we're here."

"Yes sir." CJ said with a curt nod, "And I must say CJ, before we get down to the political aspects of the situation, I would like to simply apologize. I realize that this has probably been just as hard, if not harder, on you as on me and I never would have wanted you to have to deal with something like this."

"Thank you sir" CJ said looking Bartlet directly in the eyes for the first time in two days, "I'm also sorry that you are having to deal with so much, I know that it must be hard for you to have Abbey so upset at you over all of this and I'm sorry that I had to be involved in making things so complicated."

"Well, thank you for apologizing as well CJ" Bartlet said kindly, "But you truly have much less to apologize for than I do."

"Well there is definitely blame to share, but no matter whose fault all of this is, we need to figure out what we are going to do to keep it from ruining us and becoming a major news story." CJ said while managing to fit both a meaningful statement and a political agenda into the same sentence.

"Yes, you're right" Bartlet said in his typical 'what's next' tone. "If you've spoken to Abbey today as you said you have CJ, then you know that she is strongly opposed to the idea of you handing in your resignation."

"Yes sir, I do know that" CJ said with a nod, "But we have to take into account that while the First Lady may be idealistic, that doesn't necessarily make her right. I think that, for all that I would greatly miss working with all of you in this place, there is something to be said for Leo's idea of resignation upon the leak of the story."

"Even though I refused your resignation the first time, I think that maybe you're right and we do need to at least look into the possibility of Leo's solution." For all that CJ knew this was the correct answer to be said, a part of her had been hoping that the President would flat out refuse to accept her resignation.

"As I'm sure Leo told you, the advantages of the idea are simple, by not having me resign before the story is released it doesn't clue anyone in that there is a story to find in the first place. By giving my resignation when the story breaks, it also diverts a lot of the attention from you to me and thereby makes your negative press lessened."

"Yes CJ, Leo did tell me all of that." Bartlet said as he then paused to let out a sigh, "And I know that we need to consider this as a major possibility, but I think that we definitely need to explore all of our options. You are an amazingly talented Press Secretary, and more than that you are the only one of us who can manage to keep the boys on our staff under control. You are an essential member of this team and I don't know how we can function without you. So until the day comes when we run out of alternatives, we are going to look into every possible option."

"I think that that is a very noble idea sir" CJ said feeling both touched by his kind words and saddened by the fact that she knew they would find no better alternatives, "But I think that if it is alright with you, the first thing we should do is to have a meeting with the Senior Staff and see what they think we ought to do."

"Yes, that is definitely what we need to do as our first political move." Bartlet said as he nodded his head slowly and then suddenly yelled out, "Charlie! I need you to get all of the senior staff in my office as soon as they are available."

"Yes sir" Charlie said quickly as he stepped out of the room to call all of the various members of the staff.

Once Charlie had gone, Bartlet and CJ sat quietly for a minute before the President said softly, "CJ, do you think Abbey will ever forgive me?" Caught off-guard by the bluntness of his question, CJ took a moment before answering, "Yes sir, I think that she will."

"What makes you think that?" Bartlet asked, far more as a friend than as a boss, "I know that she will, because that is what people who truly love each other do. They forgive each other's mistakes." Smiling sadly Bartlet whispered, "Thank you for believing that."

When they had been silent for a minute longer, CJ broke the quiet by saying, "Sir, I'd like to talk to you about one more thing before the others arrive." Looking up at her as though he was coming out of some sort of trance, Bartlet said, "Yes? What do you want to talk to me about?"

"Well Sir," CJ said nervously as she began to speak, "I can't believe I'm about to ask this in the Oval Office…" "I think we past that point of shock a little while back CJ" Bartlet said with a laugh.

"Well yes sir" CJ said as she realized just how odd their entire conversation must have been by Oval Office standards, "But what I wanted to ask was…well Abbey reminded me of it when we were talking this morning, and I told her that I honestly couldn't remember the answer."

"What couldn't you remember the answer to CJ?" Looking down at her shoes CJ said, "Well she asked how stupid we really were that night, she wanted to know if we had used any form of protection, and I really couldn't remember."

Looking slightly confused for a moment and then letting realization dawn on him, Bartlet said, "I don't know, I can't seem to recall much from that night. You don't think…" "I have no idea" CJ said honestly, I just wanted to see if you knew for sure whether or not we did, but for now we need to put that issue on the shelf and focus on the political repercussions."

"CJ, I…" Bartlet said feeling a deep sense of guilt over the entire situation, and then as if on cue, Charlie interrupted them by stating that Toby, Sam and Josh were on their way and Leo opened the door from his office to join CJ and the President shortly thereafter.


	7. Chapter 7: What are you talking about?

Chapter 7:

"Good afternoon Mr. President, CJ, Leo" Toby said as he Sam and Josh entered the oval office to see an already seated CJ, Leo and the president.

"Thanks for coming guys," Bartlet said as he motioned for them to come and take a seat on the couch next top him or on the opposite couch next to CJ, "Have a seat"

As Bartlet began to talk, Josh noticed that his customary seat next to Leo had been left empty and that he had opted to sit on the couch directly across from CJ, a decision that Josh silently supported in an attempt to keep from intimidating CJ in this already awkward situation.

"So," Jed Bartlet began as he immediately cut to the heart of the issue, "CJ, Leo and I have been talking about the best solution to this problem for a while now, but CJ thought, and she was absolutely right in thinking so, that we should consult you all before we make any final decisions."

Josh nodded his head in accent as Toby and Sam exchanged confused looks. Without noticing their confusion, Bartlet continued at full pace, "Leo feels that it has become necessary to ask for Claudia Jean's impending resignation and the idea certainly has benefits,"

Toby tried to interrupt at this point if only out of sheer certainty that he had heard the last statement incorrectly, but unable to amidst Jed's stream of dialogue.

"Abbey on the other hand, for reason's beyond the understanding given the current situation, has made it clear that she is vehemently opposed to such an idea. CJ and I both can see the benefits to resignation as well as the hindrances, so that is where your opinions come in."

Pausing for the first time in his speech, the president looked over at Josh and asked, "How do you feel about the situation Josh?" "Well sir," Josh began cautiously, "I can certainly see the political benefits of such an outcome,"

"But?" Jed asked as he picked up on Josh's unspoken hesitation, "But" Josh continued with emphasis, "I will stand by CJ through this entire thing even if it means that I have to lose my job too. And not just because she is an amazing Press Secretary, but also because she is my friend, and frankly sir, with due respect" by this point Josh was glaring daggers at his Commander in Chief, "this is in no way CJ's fault alone and I feel that she shouldn't be the one to take all the blame for something that is also your responsibility!"

"Josh!" CJ snapped at exactly the same time Leo yelled, "That's enough!" "No, no guys" Bartlet said without any anger, "Josh has every right to feel the way that he does, that's why we asked him to come in here in the first place, to get his opinion."

"Alright" Sam said as he stood up and looked around the room, "I've to tried to stay quiet and listen, but I can't take this much longer…What is going on?" "Yeah," Toby said as he stood up to join in, "Why are we talking about CJ resigning? And what are Josh and Leo arguing about?"

Ignoring Toby and Sam and instead looking at CJ, Bartlet asked in his kind and disbelieving voice, "You didn't tell them?"

Shrugging CJ said, "I told Josh and I figured that he would've told them by now." "That's not very fair CJ" Josh said as he too continued to ignore the standing Sam and Toby, "I may not be able to keep most secrets very long, but what you told me you said in confidence, and I wasn't about to say anything unless you said I should."

"That's very sweet Joshua" CJ said with a little laugh at just how chivalrous he was trying to be. "What are you talking about!" Toby demanded as he looked like he might stroke out any minute.

"Why don't you both sit down" Bartlet said as he motioned towards the couch and then looked at CJ, "Do you want to be the one to tell them?" "No thank you sir" CJ said as she shook her head a little, "I've had my fair share of telling that story and I don't feel like doing it again."

"Alright then," Jed said as he adjusted his position on the sofa to better face Toby and Sam, "Do you guys remember the party we had after the election a couple of nights ago?"

"Of course," Sam said with a laugh, "I had a little to much to drink, I think we all did." "You can say that again," CJ muttered under her breath as Toby turned to give her a questioning look.

"Well anyway," Bartlet continued hastily, "After you left for the evening, Leo, CJ, Charlie, Ron and I began to walk out to the car. Leo left to go home and I dismissed Charlie for the rest of the night. CJ was stumbling around a little," CJ blushed a little and looked at the floor as Sam and Toby both looked her way, "and Ron suggested that we ought to give her a ride home so that she wouldn't kill herself driving."

"A smart idea," Toby said sensibly as he looked back over at the president. "Not so much as it turns out" Jed said with shake of his head, "What do you mean?" Sam asked in a confused voice, "Well our offering Claudia Jean a ride home resulted in somewhat of an incident."

Looking the president directly in the eye Toby asked suspiciously, "What do you mean by 'incident' sir?" "Well...you see...what happened…" Bartlet fumbled as Leo exclaimed, "Oh for goodness sakes" "What I'm trying to say is, what I really mean…"

"They slept together!" Josh blurted out as the president's rambling became to much for him to deal with. After a stunned silence in which you could have heard a pin drop, Sam asked stupidly, "By they you mean…"

"The president and the queen of England!" Toby yelled in order to let out some of his new found frustration, "Who do you think he means Sam?"

"I…I…" Sam started before he finally fell quite and looked down at the floor. After a couple of minutes of awkward silence, Toby went back into political mode and said, "So we're talking about CJ resigning as a form of damage control?"

"Yes" Leo said with a curt nod, "It may be the best way to salvage the administration" CJ said looking up for the first time since the truth was admitted. Scared to look into Toby's eyes, CJ cautiously forced herself to look at him.

Looking her in the eyes for a mere second, Toby diverted his gaze and said, mostly out of the hurt that he was feeling, "I think that CJ may be right." "What!" Josh practically yelled, "Toby, you can't be serious, Sam help me out here."

Having been addressed, Sam looked over at the president and said, "What I would like to know, given the…situation, is why the First Lady feels that CJ shouldn't resign."

"That's a damn good question which I cannot fathom the answer to." Bartlet said as he looked at Sam, "It's because of the image." CJ whispered as she once again began to study her shoes.

"What?" Leo asked, not entirely sure that he had heard her correctly, "It's because of the image Leo" CJ said as she lifted her head to meet his gaze.

"What image?" Jed and Sam asked at almost the same time. "You didn't tell him about the image?" CJ asked in confusion, she had simply assumed that the President knew before Leo brought it to her.

"I was waiting for the right time to bring it up" Leo said choosing his words cautiously, "But you told the First Lady?" CJ prodded, "A decision which I am regretting more with each moment" Leo said as rubbed his temples.

"What does the First Lady know that I don't?" the President asked in a no-nonsense tone. Seeing the danger in the direction that the situation was headed, CJ's Press Secretary instincts took over and she began damage control, "Well sir, you see…My resignation wouldn't do you much good if you were not in some way able to benefit from it."

"Right" Jed said as he looked CJ directly in the eyes and she began to wonder if she could state her, well actually Leo's, argument without breaking down.

"So sir" Leo said as he stepped in for fear of how CJ might describe the idea, "We decided that the best way for you to benefit would be for us to create a public image surrounding CJ's departure."

"Is that true CJ?" Jed asked as he looked over at her and she was unable to meet his gaze, "Is what Leo is saying the right thing to do?" "Yes sir" CJ said quietly and against all her feelings. "That didn't sound very enthusiastic Claudia Jean, why don't you agree with Leo? Why doesn't Abbey agree?"

"I never said I didn't agree…" CJ began before the President cut her off and said, "Yes but you've worked for me long enough that I know when you are doing something for the administration that you disagree with, so why don't you agree?"

"Sir it really is our best option," Leo started as Josh cut him off and shouted, "He's making her out to be a gold-digging hoar! Of course Abbey doesn't agree, I don't agree and the only reason CJ is even trying to agree is because she thinks that by sacrificing her dignity to the wolves it will solve all your problems, but it won't! And even if it would, I don't know that it is a sacrifice she should have to make."

"Leo" Bartlet began in a dangerous tone, "What do you have to say about what Josh just told me?" "Well sir" Leo said as he feebly tried to defend his argument, "The image that we are going to create is that you were a drunk, lonely man who missed his wife."

"Well that's certainly true" the President said as he then continued, "And CJ?"

"Well, I believe that the exact wording we're planning to use is that CJ was in a state of almost complete sobriety and that she used her position and charm as a beautiful young woman to seduce you so as to gain influence over the most powerful man in the…"

"I don't believe you Leo!" Jed shouted indignantly as stood up, "You want to paint my Press Secretary as a manipulative, power-searching, slut in order to possibly, not even for certain, but possibly save my ass. Why don't we just hang a scarlet letter on a sign around her neck and make her walk across the National Mall naked!"

"Sir, I really think" Leo began as the President sat back onto the sofa and said in a quiet and dangerous voice, "This meeting is done, we can talk more about the subject tomorrow."

"Sir," CJ said in a quiet voice as everyone began to file out of the room, "Josh thinks that we should start looking to see if we can find anyone who saw or heard anything in order to head off a story before it start, and I think that's he's right."

"Sure, whatever." Bartlet said with a sigh, "How could you agree with him CJ?" "It never felt right to me sir," CJ said with a sigh of her own, "But I was simply trying to spin the story to help you, that's my job. And it wouldn't be the first time that you wanted me to spin something in a way that I disagreed with."

"You thought that I agreed with Leo," "I thought you knew, Yes sir." CJ said as she turned to leave, "I would never agree to demean you like that CJ" Jed said as she was walking away, "If we have to fight some king of a story, so be it, but trying to cover our asses by throwing one of our own to the wolves is beneath this administration. It is the kind of politics that I swore I would never touch, and I meant it Claudia Jean."

"Thank you sir," CJ said quietly as she turned around and headed out the door.

Seeing her leave, Jed closed his eyes and tried to remember when his world had become about surrounded in lies and deceit just like all the ordinary politicians he promised he wouldn't become. Sitting in his chair, Jed decided that he needed to go and try to talk to Abbey as soon as possible, if only to apologize for supporting Leo's idea unknowingly.


	8. Chapter 8: Conversations

Thanks to those who sent reviews please keep it up, and I hope you like the next couple of chapters.

Chapter 8:

"Toby" CJ said as she caught up with him in the hall once she left the Oval Office. "Toby, wait up!"

Jogging a little to catch up with him and talk to him about the possibility of drafting a speech for once the story breaks, she asked, "Didn't you here me calling pokey?"

"Would you stop it with the stupid nicknames CJ!" Toby snapped angrily, "I'm not in fourth grade and I don't need to be treated like it." "Whoa sorry" she said taken aback by his sudden hostility.

Then noticing that he was walking ahead at an alarming speed, CJ once again caught up with him and said, "Hey, what's wrong? Are you trying to ditch me?"

"Would you blame me if I said that I didn't want to be around you right now?" Toby asked in a sharp voice causing CJ to feel suddenly hurt by his remark. "Why wouldn't you," she began before realization dawned on her, "Is this about the thing? I don't see how you could be mad at me about…"

"Really CJ?" Toby asked incredulously, "You don't see how I could be mad that you went off and slept with the President most likely ruining any chance we had at reelection?!"

"Could you possibly talk a little louder Toby?!" CJ as she slammed the door to his office, "I don't think the people on the other side of the White House heard you. And if reelection is the reason you're mad at me then you can go to hell."

"Of course it isn't just about reelection CJ," Toby exclaimed in an exasperated tone as he sat into his chair, "Jed Bartlet is a man whom I've always admired and I'd hate to see his political legacy be tarnished by some stupid thing you've done."

"This is not all my fault Toby" CJ said angrily, "In fact it's just as much his fault as it is mine and maybe if you had bothered to care enough about how I was doing after the party none of this mess would have happened in the first place!"

"So now this is my fault?!" Toby yelled as he stood back up behind his desk, "No, of course not" CJ said in a quieter tone, "What I meant was…"

"You know CJ" Toby said with disgust lacing his voice as he interrupted her, "I really thought you were better than this, I never thought that you would stoop so low as to sleep with a married man in order to gain power."

The moment he'd said it Toby knew that he'd gone to far, but it was too late, "Screw you Toby" CJ spat as she walked out the door and slammed it hard behind her.

Staring at the door after she left, Toby knew that he shouldn't have said that and that it was entirely untrue. As he sat there, he silently cursed himself for letting his own unspoken feelings get in the way and for causing CJ to feel even more upset than she already had.

As he silently entered the Residence, Jed noticed that Abbey was sitting on the couch and reading a book. When he looked at her more closely, he thought it looked as if she had been crying, but that was something uncharacteristic of Abbey. Crying? Sure she would get mad and go off on tirades, but crying?

While he continued to slowly walk towards the couch where she was seated, Jed said in a soft and concerned voice, "Abbey?" Looking up at him over her book for a mere second, Abbey responded coldly, spiting his name "Jed" back at him as some sort insult.

Cautiously Jed approached the couch and took a seat a few feet away from his wife. After she had continued to ignore him for a couple of minutes, the President said quietly, "CJ thinks that you're going to forgive me one day."

"What?" Abbey said as she looked up over her book not having been paying attention, "I said," Jed repeated kindly, "that CJ thinks you're going to come back to me someday"

"Well that's rich" Abbey said with a harsh laugh as she lowered her book to her lap, "Especially seeing as she's the reason we're not together right now in the first place." "That's not fair" Jed said sharply.

It was one thing for his wife to be mad at him, or even for her to be mad at CJ, but it was another thing entirely for her to carelessly place the blame. Particularly since she was the one who hadn't been there to celebrate with him and CJ was already feeling horrible without any extra guilt.

"I know" Abbey said as she conceded the point of CJ's guilt. She knew that she wasn't angry at CJ specifically so much as angry at the whole set of awful circumstances.

Having lost any train of possible conversation, Jed fell silent for another minute before asking, "If you're so upset at CJ right now, why are you so vocal about being sure that she doesn't resign?"

"It's a woman's issue," Abbey said dismissively without even looking up from her book. "It's more than that" Jed said causing Abbey to look up at him with a 'since when do you know what I think' glare, "It is most certainly a women's issue. I don't think that CJ should take the fall for this just because she is the woman in the situation, it's too 1800's and on top of that I think what Leo is planning to do is complete bullshit!"

"You're right" Jed said in a pacifying manner, "Of course you're right, this is a women's issue. And what Leo thought was best was a truly bad idea that I never would have agreed with had I known he was planning on it. But what I truly meant to say is that I think there is something more to it than just a women's issue. I think that you have some sort of more personal investment in CJ's resignation or lack there of."

Once again giving her husband one of her infamous glares, this one saying 'of course I have a personal investment in this problem, that should be obvious', Abbey turned back to reading her book without giving her husband so much as a dismissal of a response.

After trying unsuccessfully to read for a couple of minutes Abbey sighed and slammed her book down into her lap. "You know it makes you wonder…" Abbey said shaking her head slowly, "What does?" Jed asked eager to accommodate her in any form of conversation that she was willing to have at this point.

"It makes you wonder," Abbey began again in a voice teetering somewhere along the edge between confusion and rage, "If your husband truly had no plans to commit adultery, and if his intentions were pure…If it was all some sort of grand accident, suggesting that you have nothing to fear from the woman involved, then why would your husband see it as necessary to get rid of a non-existent threat?"

Looking at his wife in a confused manner as he tried to figure out exactly what her cryptic wording had meant, Jed asked, "Abbey what are you trying to imply?"

Looking him directly in the eyes and putting her voice into the most straightforward tone she could manage, Abbey said, "Is it possible that you love her Jed?"

"Why would…" Jed stumbled to find words as he was so taken aback by his wife's question, "What would make you think that I might love her?"

"Oh I don't know" Abbey said in a sarcastic voice, "Could it be her looks? She has great hair and killer legs according to all the guys in this building. Or maybe it's her youth? We all know she's a lot younger than we are, and from what I hear that's attractive to married men these days. Or it could be the rumor going around that she's great in bed, although I'm sure you know that first hand by now. But above all of that Jed, she's loyal. She's willing to give up her career for you, as we have seen demonstrated recently, and I'd be willing to bet that she would take a bullet for you, which I know means the world to you Jed."

Not even pausing long enough for the President to try and interrupt her, Abbey continued, "So I guess you're right, I can't see any reason why you might love her. So I'll ask my question again Jed, Is there any chance that you love CJ?"

Looking awe-struck at his wife, Jed chose his words carefully and spoke in a slow manner, "Am I in love with Claudia Jean? No." Seeing Abbey's disbelieving look the President continued, "You were right, it does mean the world to me that she, as well as almost all of my staff I do believe, would be willing to take a bullet for me. Now do I love CJ?"

Pausing for a moment, Jed considered the whole truth and answered honestly, "Yes Abbey, I do love CJ. But I'm not in love with her. I love her like a…"

"If you are about to say daughter, I am going to walk out of this room right now." Abbey said before he could finish his sentence. Realizing that his wife's point and rethinking his word choice, Bartlet went on, "I love her, everyone in the west wing loves her. And, but for the possible exception of Toby, none of those people love her in a romantic way."

"And yet none of those people have slept with her either Jed" Abbey added pointedly. "Yes I know that Abbey, and it was a mistake. But what I'm trying to tell you is that that's all it was, a mistake. I didn't plan to sleep with her ahead of time and I certainly have no plans to make that mistake some sort of on-going love affair, it was simply a one-night thing that happened. You're the woman that I love."

"If that's true," Abbey began in a shaky voice, "If I am the one woman that you love, then how could this happen? How could you let this happen Jed?"

"I honestly don't know Abbey" Jed responded with all of the honesty that he could manage to put into one statement. "You don't know Jed?! What kind of an answer is that?"

"Abbey I…I just want us to be able to move past this and to be a couple again." Looking at him with sorrow in her eyes Abbey said, "You just don't get it do you Jed? It's not that simple, we can't pretend it never happened."

"No one's trying to pretend that Abbey" Jed interjected as she shook her head in disbelief of his ignorance, "Jed no one said there was any guarantee that I'm coming back to you. CJ told you that I still loved you, and that's true, but that's not the same thing as me forgiving you!"

"Abbey, you can't leave me…I…we're meant for each other and we love each other too!" Jed cried out in frustration as Abbey sighed realizing that they wouldn't be able to have a rational conversation about this for some time. "I'll stay with you until the story breaks Jed, and then…well then I don't know what I'm going to do."

"Abbey please," Jed began before she cut him off to say quietly, "I think it would be a good idea if until then I sleep in one of the other guest bedrooms."

Looking at his wife with a painful realization that she was right, Jed closed his eyes and whispered, "Alright."


	9. Chapter 9: You should see this

Chapter 9:

"And I want you to be sure that the language is correct and in our favor in the bi-partisan health care bill Josh." Leo said as the Senior Staff finished up one of their regular staff meetings in his office.

"Anything else Leo?" CJ asked as everyone stood to leave, "That's it…Oh wait one more thing" Leo said as everyone turned back to him, "CJ I need you to sit down with the First Lady and discuss the press aspects of the current situation for when the story breaks."

"What?!" CJ exclaimed, taken aback by his complete disregard for the situation at hand as the others looked at Leo as if he were insane, "Leo, there's no way that I can go and talk to the First Lady about anything involving politics or her family at the moment."

"I agree with CJ Leo," Josh put in quickly, "Having her work with the First Lady would only unnecessarily add to the tensions around here."

"That may be true," Leo consented as he looked at Josh, "But we need to draft a press release for when the story breaks, and like it or not despite the fact that she has put herself in an awkward situation, CJ is still our Press Secretary."

"I know that Leo" CJ said, deciding that it was time for her to step back into the conversation and feeling like she was being purposefully ignored, "But the First Lady has her own Press Secretary who handles her affairs, let him deal with it."

Getting less and less patient, Leo said, "She does have her own Press Secretary CJ, but this isn't a matter of the First Lady's schedule. This is an issue that will greatly influence the President as well, and you are going to work on it."

CJ couldn't help but here his accusatory tone when he referred to the affect it would have on the President and she tried to protest once again, "Leo, it's…"

"'It's' nothing CJ," Leo snapped in frustration, "You are going to go and work with the First Lady because it is your job, end of story."

Glaring daggers at him, CJ held her tongue. "Anyone else?" Leo asked as he then sat down to read and added, "You can go."

As the others filed out of Leo's office, CJ and Toby avoiding one another like the plague, Sam lagged behind for a moment. He stood still for a minute before Leo noticed him and looked up from his reading, "What?"

"Leo I have something that I think you ought to see" Sam said hesitantly as he fingered an envelope that he had taken out of his notebook. "Alright" Leo said as he extended his hand to take the envelope.

As he handed it over Sam babbled, "It could have been a thing, but I got to it before anyone else. It was taken by a service worker on his cell phone as he was leaving the White House after work."

"What on earth are you talking about?" Leo asked as he opened the envelope. Leo fell quite as he looked at the contents of the envelope. It was pictures, just the pictures they had been afraid to find.

"Well," Leo said as he sat back against his chair. That was about all that he could really think to say. A part of him was worried about how close this had come to being a disaster, another part of him was troubled by the images the he was seeing, and the largest part of him was thankful that Sam had found these first.

Glancing back down at the pictures of CJ and the President making out against the edge of the Presidential limo, Leo looked back up at Sam and sighed, "Alright, I guess I had better go and talk to the President and you should probably go and see CJ. Thanks for coming to me with this."

"Of course Leo," Sam said as he got ready to leave, "I'm just glad that this didn't turn into a story…"

"Don't kid yourself" Leo said shaking his head, "We may have dodged this bullet, but the fact that we found these only proves that there are bound to be others."

"Yeah I know" Sam said as he walked out of Leo's office and towards CJ's where he would have to deliver the news, "But you can't blame a man for hoping."

Later that same afternoon after having had a particularly rough morning, CJ headed up to the Residence to do as Leo asked. She was not looking forward to her meeting with the First Lady and, although she had no idea how the First Lady was going to react to her, she was pretty certain that it would not make her day any better.


End file.
